headlights only work on high-beam

[Greg]

Hey guys,

I'm being a little lazy here by not looking through the schematics to think about this more, but I've been really busy...

Anyway, the headlights on my g/f's 86 lxi go out sometimes. Then they don't come on if you switch the lights off and on. They DO come on if you put on the high-beams. Then the normal lights come on. If you pull the high beam switch again you get the high-beams, and then if you pull it again it goes back to regular lights.

But after maybe 10 minutes they'll just go out.

I'm not sure if the hi-beam trick always works. But I'm gonna get off my ass to fix it.

Is there just a relay that is going bad? If so, anyone know where this relay is? Is it in the fuse-box under the hood?

You think I could just re-solder the relay and it would be all better, or should I get a new relay. I'm trying to be cheap with my car repairs.

We're just finally starting to get warm weather here in Chicago. But then it's supposed to rain like every day this week...

[Greg]

Also, if it is a relay, does anyone know the procedure for testing this particular relay with a multi-meter or a test-light probe?

[MrBen]

I'm thinking your headlight combo switch may be bad, in which case I would just get a new one and be done with it. Your headlight wire for normal lights could be snapped on both sides, it's pretty common, but that would be very coincidental if both sides happened at once. But you say they come on when you put your high beams on so that's probably not the problem.

[Coitis1]

mine are the exact opposite. just last week my high beams started going out, then i would jiggle the switch and they would come on, but now they dont come on at all. ur problem, along w/ mine, is more than likely just a faulty switch.

[MrBen]

If you jiggle the switch and the lights flicker and shit, your switch is faulty. If it doesnt, it could be something else.

[Grant2k]

where the headlights hinge up and down the wire probably broke. this happened to mine. they are still in the wire loom from the factory so they wires touch sometimes and sometimes don't. at any auto parts store you can get a socket for a 2 headlight system with about a foot of wire at the end of it. take out your headlight and reach your hand in as far as you can and cut the wires and splice in the new ones. just tape up the splice real good. it's easy. it may not be that but that's an idea.

[MrBen]

I dont think so because they work. It's the switch. If they didnt work, then you're probably right.

[ACCORD EX]

well check out this thread !

i posted pages from the service manual there about wiring and trouble shooting of retractor lights !

MIKE

[ACCORD EX]

damn i forgot to post the link ! here it is !

https://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?...453#post166453

MIKE

[Greg]

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot. I think this is good advice. It could be the switch, but I see how it could be the wires in the loom too if the insulation has come apart and sometimes the current goes to ground yet sometimes doesn't.

ALTHOUGH, if this was the case, then they would be intermittent, but messing with the switch wouldn't fix the problem.

So because it fixes the bug when I switch high-beams on and off sometimes, then I guess I think it's the switch.

Maybe I'll take it apart to see if I can fix the connections in the switch rather than buying a new one. Or maybe I'll get one from a boneyard. I hate these OEM only parts!